Derek Wright

#8 · WR · Sr. · Utah State6′1″ · 190 lb · Sterling, UT

Derek Wright: WR · Utah State · #8.

Similar players

Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.

Dallas DixonCentral Michigan · 2021 · 80% season match
Roman WilsonMichigan · 2023 · 79% season match
Marcell BarbeeTexas State · 2020 · 71% season match
Danny GraySMU · 2021 · 70% season match
Corey CroomsWestern Michigan · 2021 · 66% season match

Derek Wright

WR · Utah State · Sr · #8

Wins underneath on volume and route precision. Played for three head coaches in three seasons at Utah State. A game that shows it: 150 receiving yards and 4 receptions against New Mexico — Week 13, 2021.

Style of play

Play style

Runs precise routes in tight quarters. Volume player who keeps chains moving.

Fans

No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.

Utah State in the news

Utah State superfan Steve McBride diesNov 2

Where to follow

Career stats

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Season	Team
2021	Utah State	48	789	16.4	11	76
2020	Utah State	11	122	11.1	0	29
2019	Utah State	7	102	14.6	2	30
Career		66	1,013	15.3	13	76

Game log

Game log · Week-by-week

2021 season · 13 games

Box score · CFBD

Swipe the table sideways for more columns.

Wk	Opp	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG	Note
Wk 1	W 26-23@ Washington State	4	35	8.8	0	12
Wk 2	W 48-24vs North Dakota	4	73	18.3	2	41	2 TD catches
Wk 3	W 49-45@ Air Force	1	16	16.0	0	16
Wk 4	L 3-27vs Boise State	1	44	44.0	0	44
Wk 5	L 20-34vs No. 13 BYU	5	52	10.4	0	15
Wk 7	W 28-24@ UNLV	5	83	16.6	0	22
Wk 8	W 26-24vs Colorado State	2	63	31.5	2	38	2 TD catches
Wk 9	W 51-31vs Hawai'i	4	83	20.8	1	46
Wk 10	W 35-13@ New Mexico State	3	20	6.7	1	15
Wk 11	W 48-17@ San José State	3	50	16.7	2	41	2 TD catches
Wk 12	L 17-44vs Wyoming	3	30	10.0	0	11
Wk 13	W 35-10@ New Mexico	4	150	37.5	2	76	Season-high 150 yds
Wk 14	W 46-13@ No. 19 San Diego State	6	57	9.5	1	15
Total		45	756	16.8	11	76

Signature game

Week 2 · 2021

W 48-24

vs North Dakota

4 rec · 73 yds · 2 TD

Dominant 24-point win at home against North Dakota.

With L. Bonner — 390 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 38.1 · 14 rush yds (10 car) · D. Thompkins — 8 rec · 172 yds · 1 TD

Signature plays

The plays that mattered most

Week 13 · New Mexico · 3rd and 6 · Q2 · EPA +6.99Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 76 yds for a TD, (Connor Coles KICK)
Week 8 · Colorado State · 4th and 5 · Q2 · EPA +5.30Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 38 yds for a TD
Week 11 · San José State · 2nd and 9 · Q4 · EPA +3.99Bonner to Wright: a 41-yard touchdown pass.
Week 4 · Boise State · 3rd and 5 · Q2 · EPA +3.91Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 44 yds to the BoiSt 40 for a
Week 2 · North Dakota · 1st and 10 · Q4 · EPA +3.24Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 41 yds for a TD, (Connor Coles KICK)
Week 13 · New Mexico · 3rd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +2.96Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 15 yds to the 50 yard line for a

4 more plays

Week 13 · New Mexico · 2nd and 6 · Q1 · EPA +2.89Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 27 yds for a TD, (Connor Coles KICK)
Week 13 · New Mexico · 2nd and 7 · Q1 · EPA +2.89Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 32 yds to the NMex 31 for a
Week 1 · Oregon State · 2nd and 4 · Q3 · EPA +2.73Derek Wright pass complete to Cooper Legas for 34 yds to the OrgSt 34 for a
Week 8 · Colorado State · 1st and 10 · Q2 · EPA +2.70Logan Bonner pass complete to Derek Wright for 25 yds for a TD (Connor Coles KICK)

Teams and coaches

2019Utah State7-6HC: Gary Andersen · Balanced

2020Utah State1-5HC: Gary Andersen and Frank Maile · Balanced, slow tempo

2021Utah State11-3HC: Blake Anderson · Balanced, fast tempo

Our ratings

CFB Zeitgeist Score 71 (#56 of 468). Show the ratings

Where this profile ranks vs the WR cohort

Box-score + play-by-play EPA percentiles · 2021 season

71Quality starter #56 of 468 · 2021?

10 metrics · season cumulative

2021 score: the 2026 sample is not big enough yet. The rows below are 2026 so far. Elite: epa / target (98th percentile). Strength: td rate (95th percentile).

Real play-by-play efficiency

EPA / target#16 / 655 · 98th pct

1.29

TD rate#36 / 655 · 95th pct

15.3%

Yards / catch#91 / 655 · 86th pct

16.1

Explosive rate#242 / 655 · 63rd pct

15.3%

Catch rate#271 / 655 · 59th pct

78.0%

Box-score rates (5)

Rec TDs#14 / 557 · 97th pct

Long catch#36 / 557 · 93rd pct

Rec yards#75 / 557 · 87th pct

789

Yards / catch#95 / 557 · 83rd pct

16.4

Receptions#112 / 557 · 80th pct

Season trend

EPA / target— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Explosive rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Catch rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

TD rate— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Yards / catch— 2020 cohort too thin to compare (n=17)

Percentiles versus same-position peers with enough snaps in 2021. Most bars are box-score rates; EPA / success-rate bars are computed from real play-by-play (offense only — no defensive EPA model exists yet).

Splits

Home and road splits, scheme and staff

Splits · Per-game

2021 season · 13 games

Home/Road · Season halves

Home vs Road

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Home6g	3.2	57.5	22.5	0.8
Road7g	3.7	58.7	16.0	0.9

First half vs Second half

	REC/g	YDS/g	YPR	TD/g
Weeks 1-76g	3.3	50.5	19.0	0.3
Weeks 8+7g	3.6	64.7	19.0	1.3

Supporting cast · Scheme

Staff and system around the player

2021 season

Head Coach

Blake Anderson

Pass share

47.6%

503 pass / 554 run

Plays / game

81.3

13 games

Team sack rate

6.0%

537 dropbacks · PBP

Scheme: Balanced, fast tempo.

Awards

Player standing · 2021

48 catches and 2 pass attempts in 13 games

About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.

Recognition

Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex

Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score

71 · #56 of 468 WRs · 2021

Derek Wright

Similar players

Style of play

Fans

Utah State in the news

Where to follow

Career stats

Game log

Signature game

Signature plays

Teams and coaches

Our ratings

Splits

Awards

48 catches and 2 pass attempts in 13 games

Five seasons at Utah State